Over the air programming via a broadband access gateway

ABSTRACT

A system and method supporting over-the-air programming of access device such as, for example, a mobile multimedia handset and a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA) via a broadband access gateway, is disclosed. The broadband access gateway may receive identifying information from the access device via a personal area network and/or a wireless local area network, and may transfer the identifying information to a wide area network or a third party content provider, via a broadband network. The broadband access gateway may enable the registration of the access device with the wide area network, and may receive firmware/software updates and/or provisioning parameters via the broadband network. The gateway may then transfer the firmware/software update and/or provisioning parameters to the access device via the personal area network and/or wireless local area network.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/134,497, filed Dec. 19, 2013, pending, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/096,052, filed Mar. 30, 2005, issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 8,630,225 on Jan. 14, 2014, which claims priority toprovisional application Ser. No. 60/563,894, filed Apr. 16, 2004, all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

One major common problem faced by cellular and landline serviceproviders is market competition. In today's climate of competitivemarkets, cellular service providers have found that one way for them togrow market share and defend their businesses is to be proactive andform alliances, and to partner with landline service providers. Inaddition, cellular service providers seek to differentiate their serviceofferings, and to capture the largest portion of market revenue bymeeting an ever increasing demand for access to a wide range of mediaforms such as MP3 encoded audio, still and video imaging, data, instantmessaging, and email. In a similar manner, the landline serviceproviders have found that to grow market share and ward off competition,they too must be proactive and form alliances, and to partner withcellular service providers. Support for broad economical access to theseconverging forms of communication is needed to enable unfettered marketgrowth, and to support the development and use of new handheld devicesneeded to provide increasing levels of mobile multimedia communicationfunctionality.

Although the formation of alliances and partnerships between cellularservice providers and landline service providers may help to ward offcompetition, such alliances and partnerships are faced with otherproblems. For example, the erection of cellular infrastructure such ascellular towers may be an expensive venture since this may requireacquisition of real estate, whether in the form of outright purchases orthrough leasing. Cellular infrastructure also requires the establishmentof one or more expensive backbone links to handle core network traffic.Another cellular-related problem is that the cellular signals do notpenetrate and propagate in buildings such as homes and offices verywell. This is especially true with the frequencies that are typicallyutilized in the United States, which may vary between 800 MHz and 1900MHz or 1.9 GHz.

To support operation in present day wireless networks, access devicessuch as, for example, cellular telephones and wireless personal digitalassistants (PDAs) are sometimes provisioned manually, at a point ofpurchase, by a customer service representative. Such provisioninginstalls parameters required for operation with a particular serviceprovider. Alternatively, such access devices may be automaticallyprovisioned via the wireless network of a service provider, based uponcustomer activity at a web site, or a telephone conversation with acustomer service representative. Depending upon the nature of theinformation to be provisioned, the number of active subscribers, andother factors, the programming of the cellular phone or PDAconfiguration/provisioning parameters may take from a few minutes, toseveral hours to complete.

In spite of the fact the electrical design of most current wirelesshandsets allows much of the firmware/software to be updated, it isseldom attempted due to the low data rates available via the typicalcellular wireless network. Consumers typically return a mobile handsetto a business location of their cellular service provider to have thememory of the cellular phone reprogrammed. This is inconvenient and timeconsuming, and few subscribers bother to have updated firmwareinstalled. The costs involved with the use of the current infrastructureare also a deterrent for the service provider to engage in firmwareupdates. The lack of an easy and quick method of updating mobile handsetfirmware slows the deployment and adoption of new features, and leavesfaulty or misbehaving mobile handsets in the field.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

SUMMARY

A system and method for over-the-air programming of a plurality ofaccess devices via a broadband access gateway, substantially as shown inand/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as setforth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects, and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of illustrated embodiments, thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of an exemplarycommunications system in which a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may be practiced.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communicationsystem 100, in accordance with a representative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram illustrating a communication systemsupporting over-the-air (OTA) programming of parameter information thatmay correspond to a portion of the communication system of FIG. 2, forexample, in accordance with a representative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3B illustrates a display showing an exemplary service registrationscreen that may be displayed by an access device such as, for example,the access device of FIG. 3A, in accordance with a representativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A shows a block diagram illustrating a communication systemsupporting over-the-air (OTA) updating of code such as, for example,firmware and software, that may correspond to a portion of thecommunication system FIG. 2, for example, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B illustrates a display showing an exemplary feature update screenthat may be displayed by an access device such as, for example, theaccess device of FIG. 4A, in accordance with a representative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method supportingover-the-air (OTA) programming of provisioning parameters in an accessdevice such as, for example, the access device or wireless PDA of FIG.3A, using a broadband access gateway that may correspond, for example,to the gateway of FIG. 3A, in accordance with a representativeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method supportingover-the-air (OTA) updating of code (e.g., software and/or firmware) inan access device such as, for example, the access device or wireless PDAof FIG. 4A, using a broadband access gateway that may correspond, forexample, to the gateway of FIG. 4A, in accordance with a representativeembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present invention relate to the seamless merging of widearea networks, from any kind of wired and/or wireless wide areanetworks, to pockets of wired and/or wireless local area networks andpersonal area networks, which may be located in homes or otherenvironment such as an office or business. More specifically, aspects ofthe present invention relate to over-the-air (OTA) programming of accessdevices such as, for example, mobile multimedia handsets, personalcomputers, or personal digital assistants. The types of information thatmay be programmed into such devices using an over-the-air technique viaa broadband access gateway may include, for example, provisioninginformation for the establishment of service, multimedia information,software and/or firmware to correct or update existing software and/orfirmware, and new software and/or firmware to make available newcapabilities and services. The over-the-air delivery of such informationmay be supported by a broadband access gateway that permits broadbandnetwork access via, for example, a personal cellular microcell, apersonal area network (PAN), a wired or wireless wide area network(WAN), wireless local area network (WLAN) or other type of networklocated within a premises such as, for example, a home, office,business, or the like. Services that may be available via such abroadband gateway connection include, for example, access to the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN); Internet protocol (IP) phone access;extended access to commercial cellular and PCS networks such as, forexample, TDMA, CDMA, and GSM; and access to and/or control of a varietyof multimedia access devices or networked resources capable of providingstreams of images, still pictures, video, and audio; to name only a few.Examples of multimedia information include streaming video, broadcastvideo, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized stillimages, digitized video, and digitized music. The merging of thesevarious types of networks may enable transparent communication of alltypes of media between access devices, which may be coupled in a wiredor wireless fashion to one or more of these networks. In an embodimentof the present invention, access to services available through awireless broadband gateway may be simplified, permitting their use by awider group of users of access devices in, for example, homes, offices,and businesses.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of an exemplarycommunications system in which a representative embodiment of thepresent invention may be practiced. Referring to FIG. 1, there is showna first location 102, a second location 104, a broadband access provider(BAP) 106, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, a transportnetwork 110, wireless networks including CDMA network 112 and GSMnetwork 114, and access devices 126 and 128. The first location 102comprises a gateway 118 having a modem 116, a wireless interface(s)block 120, and the access devices 122, 124. The access devices 122, 124,126, 128 may comprise, for example, a mobile multimedia handset having ahigh level of functionality such as, for example, that of one or more ofa digital video or still camera, a portable audio (MP3) player, apersonal digital assistant, and a voice handset. The access devices 122,124, 126, 128 may be capable of operating using, for example, a personalarea network and/or wireless local area network compliant with, forexample, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n, and/or IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband standards. The second location 104 comprises a router 130having a modem 132, and a plurality of wireless access devices. Theplurality of wireless access devices at the second location 104 maycomprise a personal computer (PC) 138, a laptop 136 and a wirelesspersonal digital assistant (PDA) 134. A peripheral such as a digitalcamera 142 may be coupled to the personal computer 138. Otherperipherals such as printers, digital scanners, speakers, and the like,which are not shown, may also be coupled to the personal computer 138and/or laptop 136. The wireless interface block 120 may comprise aplurality of interfaces such as a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband interface, and any combination of an IEEE 802.11 a, b, gand/or n interface.

FIG. 1 also comprises an “other broadband access provider” block 144, an“other cellular/PCS service provider” block 146, a central control andmanagement block 148, and content provider 150. The “other broadbandaccess provider block 144” may be, for example, a cable, DSL, or othertype of broadband access provider. The central control and managementblock 148 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may beadapted to handle content delivery and security functions such asauthentication, validation, key or certificate management, andauthorization. The central control and management block 148 may also beadapted to handle provisioning and service management. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the central controland management block 148 may establish communications links with, forexample, the gateway 118, the broadband access provider 106, the otherbroadband access provider 144, the other cellular/PCS service provider146, the CDMA network 112, and the GSM network 114 using actual orvirtual connections.

The broadband access provider 106 may be, for example, a cable operator,telephone company, or satellite operator providing Internet access alongwith other communication services. In instances where BAP 106 is atelephone company, broadband service to locations 102, 104 may beprovided via DSL or other broadband access technology. Accordingly, themodems 116, 132 may be DSL modems. In instances where BAP 106 is a cableoperator, broadband service to locations 102, 104 may be provided viacable. Accordingly, the modems 116, 132 may be DOCSIS compliant or othertype of cable modem. Given the rapid decrease in the cost of leasedtelephone lines over the past decade or more, the connection to thelocation 102, 104 may also be T1 or T3 connections. For example, aswitch located at a central office (CO) (not shown) may be utilized tocouple a T1 or T3 connection between the second location 104 and thePSTN 108.

The gateway 118 may comprise an integrated DSL modem, cable modem orother high-speed modem that may be required for handling a connectionsuch as a T1 or T3 connection. Alternatively, the gateway 118 may becoupled to an external DSL modem, cable modem or other high-speed modemthat may be capable of handling connections such as a T1 or a T3connection. The gateway 118 may be adapted so that it has access toprotocol stack information that may be related to the GSM and/or CDMAnetworks 114, 112, respectively. The gateway 118 may also be adapted toprovide protocol support for communication with “other cellular/PCSservice provider” block 146.

Each of the CDMA and GSM networks 112, 114 may comprise a plurality ofcell sites (a/k/a cellular towers) that are located in geographicalcells within each of the networks. Within the GSM network 114, each ofthe cell sites such as, for example, cell site 114 a may comprise a basetransceiver station (BTS), and one or more base transceiver stations(BTSs) may be coupled to wireless carrier central office 114 b. Thewireless carrier central office 114 b may comprise a base stationcontroller/radio network controller (BSC/RNC) such as BSC/RNC 114 d. Oneor more base station controllers/radio network controllers (BSCs/RNCs)may be coupled to the core network 114 e, that comprises a network edgeswitch called a mobile switching center (MSC), such as MSC 114 g, and aserving GPRS support node (SGSN)/packet data serving node (PDSN) 114 f,of the GSM network 114. The mobile switching center may be coupled to,for example, the PSTN 108 via the transport network 110. As an accessdevice moves out of range of a first cell site to within range of asecond cell site, the decrease signal power received from the first cellsite and the increase in signal power received from the second cell sitecauses initiation of handoff of a call from the first cell site to thesecond cell site. In cases where there is no second cell site to handoffto, the call may be maintained by the first cell site power until it isattenuated to a threshold where it is no longer feasible to maintain thecall. At the point where the power reaches or falls below thisthreshold, the call may drop and any related call resources may berelinquished. In a home and/or office environment, it may be desirableto have a second network to which the call may be handed off to.

As an illustration, a user may be on their way home and as the userapproaches their home, the signal may fall below a minimum signal powerthreshold that is required to maintain a call. However, instead ofdropping the call, the call may be handed off to, for example, a PAN ora wireless local area network (WLAN) that may be located within theuser's home or an unlicensed wireless access system that may be locatedin the user's home. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, as accessdevice 126 migrates from the vicinity of the serving cell site 114 a inGSM network 114 towards the wireless interface 120 in the first location102, the call may be handed off from the cell site 114 a GSM network 114to the wireless interface 120 coupled to the gateway (GW) 118 at thefirst location 102. Accordingly, instead of the call being dropped, thecall has been seamlessly handed off and is now being handled by thegateway 118 via the wireless interface 120. The resulting wireless datamay then be communicated to the GSM network 114 via the broadbandconnection to the BAP 106 which is connected to the broadband wirelesslocal area network controller (BWC) 114 c.

In this illustration, the user is handed off to their PAN, WLAN, orother network located within their home. However, the user could alsohave been handed off to another network system such as a neighbor'snetwork. In any case, a gateway coupled to the wireless interface whichis providing service to the user may communicate at least a portion ofthe data to, for example, the cable or DSL BAP 106, the GSM network 114,CDMA network 112, other broadband access service provider 144, othercellular/PCS service provider 146 and central control and managementblock 148. The user may be provided with a notification that indicatesthe presence of the PAN, WLAN, or other unlicensed network. For example,an icon representative of a personal area network may be displayed onthe screen of the access device 126 once a soft or hard handoff isachieved from a serving cell site in GSM network 114 to the wirelessinterface 120 at the first location 102. A special tone or other audioalert may also be utilized to indicate that the call has switched to thewireless interface 120.

In instances where the gateway 118 detects a compatible access devicethat may be within the range of the wireless interface 120, the gateway118 may immediately advertise its available services to the accessdevice. In this regard, the gateway 118 may be adapted to transmitservice advertisements to the access device in order to alert a user ofthe access device of the types of services that are being offered by thegateway 118. Signals containing icons representative of the services maybe transmitted to and displayed on a screen of the access device and/oraudio alerts may be utilized to notify the user of these services.

In another embodiment of the invention, quality of service (QoS) mayalso be advertised by the gateway 118. For example, when a user is beingserviced by the wireless interface 120, the gateway 118 may advertisethat stereo audio is available.

Access devices may be pre-registered so that when they are within therange of the wireless interface 120, the gateway 118 may automaticallyrecognize them. For the pre-registration, an administrator of thegateway 118 at the first location 102 may register access devices thatare allowed to access the gateway 118 when they are within the range ofthe wireless interface 120. Pre-registration may be done prior to theaccess device accessing the gateway 118. During pre-registration, anadministrator or owner of the gateway 118 may enter registration orconfiguration information such as device IDs of access devices belongingto friends and/or family members into a registration database associatedwith the gateway 118. As a result, these devices will be allowed toaccess at least a portion of the services offered by the gateway 118whenever they attempt to access the gateway 118 by pressing a singlebutton, for example. Opportunistic registration permits a user of anaccess device to register with the gateway 118 automatically with littleor no effort on the part of the user. In this regard, registrationinformation may be sent to the gateway 118 from an access device duringan initial access and the gateway 118 may choose to accept or deny theregistration. The registration information may be automatically ormanually sent to the gateway 118.

In certain instances, an access device may not have been pre-registeredto access the network. In this case, one button access may be provided.A single button such as a hard coded button or software-enabled buttonon an access device may be programmed to transmit identifyinginformation from the access device to the gateway 118. The gateway 118may utilize this transmitted identifying information to grant or denyaccess to its services. For example, one button may be programmed tocontain access device identifying information related to accessing theservices provided by gateway 118 at the first location 102. The gateway118 may also be adapted to utilize digital certificates to authenticateaccess devices.

An interactive process may also be provided, whereby the gateway 118 mayprompt or request particular information, for example a password from anaccess device requiring network access. If the particular information isreceived, then access to at least some of the services provided by thegateway 118 may be granted and if not, the access to at least some ofthe gateway's services may be denied.

In another embodiment of the invention, the one button access may beprovided via software-enabled button (soft button) or hardware-enabledbutton (hard button). In this regard, the software button may bedisplayed on a screen of an access device.

A “walled garden” approach may be utilized to provide access to theservices that may be offered by a particular gateway, for example,gateway 118. Under the walled garden approach, when an access devicefirst registers or is identified, a basic set of services may beprovided by the serving gateway 118 to the access device 124. The basicservices offered may vary among each gateway. At least some of the basicservices that are provided by a gateway such as gateway 118 may beoffered without authenticating the access device 124. However, otherservices may only be offered if an access device such as access device124 is properly authenticated. These services that are offered may beservices that were advertised by the gateway 118.

In an aspect of the invention, access to additional services may begranted based on, for example, user identity, access device identity andor user input. The services offered to an access device by a gateway maybe arranged in a hierarchical structure such as a tier. For example, ina first tier, a user may be prompted to enter membership informationsuch as a member identification number. Upon authentication of themembership identification number, the first tier may provide restrictedaccess with pop-up advertisements that may not be disabled. In a secondtier, for example, a user may be prompted to enter a password. Uponauthentication of the password, second tier information may providerestricted access to gateway services without pop-up advertisements. Ina third tier, for example, entering billing information such as anaccount number or credit card or check card number may provide unlimitedand/or unrestricted access to all the services offered by a gateway. Afourth tier may provide only operating instruction and information forguests.

An administrator of the gateway may establish the type of accessprovided by the walled garden. For example, if the first location 102 isa hotspot at a Café, the provider of the gateway may establish theservice access levels or tiers that may be provided by the gateway 118.

When an access device is within the range of the gateway 118, wirelessservice is handed off from a serving cell site 114 a in the GSM network114 to the gateway 118. The access device may be authenticated by thegateway 118 and permitted to access at least some of the servicesoffered by the gateway 118. Once the access device is authenticated, atleast a portion of the information on the access device may be madeavailable as a networked resource via the gateway 118. A user of theaccess device may choose whether information on the access device may bemade available to the gateway and if so, that information which will bemade available, and that information which will be unavailable to thegateway 118. In this regard, where information is made available, thegateway 118 may maintain a list of the resources that may be availableon access devices that may be coupled to the gateway 118. For example, alist of contact information, calendar information, audio files, videofile and/or data files stored on the access device may be sent to thegateway 118.

The resources that are available on the access device may also beadvertised to other access devices that may be in communication with thegateway 118. Advertisement of the resources that may be available on anaccess device may be restricted to, for example, a list of particulardevices, a particular type of devices or to a particular user.Accordingly, a user may have to be properly authenticated prior tocertain information being made available to the user. Additionally,advertisement of the resources may cause certain icons representative ofthe resources to be displayed on other access devices. In a similarmanner, icons representative of the resources that may be available onthese other access devices may also be presented on the access device.

An access device may be provided with a welcoming screen that may allowa user of a device to sign up for either free or paid services. Once thesignup is complete, subsequent access by the user may be authenticatedby the gateway 118 utilizing the signup information. Whenever an accessdevice registers with and/or is authenticated by the gateway 118,information on the access device may be updated and/or synchronized withinformation that may be on the gateway 118.

Devices within the location of the gateway 118 may be configured toregister certain portions of their data content with the gateway 118through a gateway registration process. Once data for these devices isregistered to the gateway 118, the gateway may maintain a database,which keeps track of the data that is available, and its location.Accordingly, if the data previously stored in the database is no longeravailable, then information representative of the previously stored datamay be removed from the database. Data from devices coupled to thegateway 118 such as on laptops, CD players, digital video disk (DVD)players, TIVO, personal video recorders (PVRs), personal digitalassistants (PDAs) and other devices, may be registered with the gateway118. This data may comprise audio, video, still pictures, and/or text.

At least a portion of the registered data may be made available to othernetwork access devices via the gateway 118. In an aspect of theinvention, the gateway 118 may be adapted to maintain a searchable listof data that may be available via the gateway. In this regard, thegateway may comprise a search engine that may be utilized to locate anddistribute data that may be made available through the gateway 118. Inanother aspect of the invention, data may be made available to accessdevices via advertising by the gateway 118. Access devices may beconfigured to seek out particular data that may be of interest.Accordingly, an access device may be adapted to receive and process onlythose gateway advertisements may fit particular criteria. Thoseadvertisements that may not fit the particular criteria may be discardedor ignored.

When an access device is within the range of the gateway 118, wirelessservice may be handed off from a serving cell site 114 a in the GSMnetwork 114 to the gateway 118. The access device may be authenticatedby the gateway 118 and permitted to access at least some of the servicesoffered by the gateway 118. Once the access device is authenticated, auser of the access device may have a desire to locate a particular videopresentation. The user may access the search engine, which may have beenadvertised to the user's access device by the gateway 118. The searchengine may appear on the display of the user's access device as an icon.The user may then activate a search by selecting the search engine icon,inputting a name of the video presentation and executing the search.

In another embodiment of the invention, the gateway may be adapted toclassify information based on a given criterion. This classification mayassist with locating information based on a particular criterion. Inthis regard, a user of the access device may be presented with a list ofclassifications and may select one, which may be of interest based on aparticular criterion. This may narrow the focus of a search.

The gateway may also be utilized to facilitate seamless synchronizationof data between devices that may be wired or wirelessly coupled to thegateway 118. For example, audio files located in a music folder on a PCcoupled to the gateway 118 may be synchronized with a wireless mediaplayer coupled to a hot spot in an airport while a user of the wirelessaccess media player waits to board a flight. In this regard, the gatewaymay determine what files need to be synchronized and control how thesynchronization is accomplished. The same is true for files that may bedownloaded from the PC to the wireless access media player, and forfiles that may be uploaded from the wireless access media player to thePC. Calendar and/or contact information may also be updated and/orsynchronized with a mobile multimedia handset in a similar mannerutilizing the gateway 118.

A location-aware service determines an approximate location of a networkdevice and adapts delivery of a particular service application and/orcontent according to a quality of service criterion. The delivery oflocation-aware services may be controlled by the gateway 118. Forexample, a user of an access device may request playback of an audioclip via the gateway 118. After receiving the request for playback ofthe audio clip, the gateway 118 may determine that a channel between thegateway 118 and the user's access device may only be capable ofmaintaining a reduced playback rate. As a result, instead of sending 128kbps encoded audio data, then the gateway may send 96 kbps data. Hence,in a case where the audio data was originally stored in 128 kbps sampledaudio data, then the gateway 118 may transcode the 128 kbps sampled datato 96 kbps audio data.

In another illustrative embodiment of the invention, while the GSMnetwork 114 is servicing the access device, lower compression rates maybe utilized to provide service to the access device. However, when theaccess device roams within range of the wireless interface 120 and isbeing served by the gateway 118 through wireless interface 120, highercompression rates may be utilized. For example, audio data sampled at adata rate of 64 kbps may be utilized for playback on an MP3 enabledtelephone while the phone is being serviced by a cell site 114 a in theGSM network 114. However, once the MP3 enabled telephone is within theoperating range of the wireless interface 120 and is being serviced bythe gateway 118, the gateway 118 may automatically adapt to a higherdata rate of, for example, 92 kbps or 128 kbps.

Automatic format conversion by the gateway 118 may include convertingdata from a first format to at least a second format suitable fordelivery and/or display on an access device. This may permit data thatwould otherwise be incompatible with a first access device to be playedon that first access device. For the location-aware services based onQoS, data was converted from a first format 128 kbps to a second format96 kbps to achieve and/or maintain a particular QoS, but the data typeremained the same. In this case, the audio format and/or its data typemay be different. For example, if the audio format was MP3, then afterthe conversion, the format remained WAV and/or the sampling rate mayhave decreased from 128 kbps top 96 kbps.

In conventional wired caller ID systems, a name and/or directory number(DN) of a calling party may be transferred either in-band or out-of-bandto a called party and may be displayed on the called party's caller IDdisplay when a call is answered. In these conventional systems, thecaller ID information is limited to a caller's name, directory number(DN), general location and/or time of call. In wireless telephonesystems, in order to save on bandwidth, only a caller's directory numberis transferred and displayed to a calling party. However, if the callingparty's directory number and name is stored in the called party's phone,then the stored name and stored directory number will be presented on adisplay of the called party's terminal. In this case, the storeddirectory number is compared with the transferred caller's directorynumber, and if a match occurs, then a name corresponding to the matchingdirectory number is also displayed on the called party's terminal.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the gateway 118 isadapted to determine the appropriate caller ID information that may bedisplayed in a called and/or calling party's caller ID. In this case,reverse caller ID information may be displayed on both a calling and acalled party's terminal by the gateway 118.

If a called and/or calling device is a mobile multimedia handset and/orlaptop, for example, contact or other personal information may bedisplayed the caller's and/or calling party's directory number. Thelevel or amount of information that may be displayed may be varied.Certain sensitive information relating to either the called or callingparty may be restricted from being displayed.

In current cellular communication systems, over the air (OTA)programming is utilized to program a cellular telephone during theprovisioning process. In some instances, cellular providers haveestablished websites that may be utilized or OTA programming. In thisregard, a cellular subscriber may access the website and enterinformation such as the assigned directory number and the electronicserial number of the cellular telephone being programmed.

In accordance with a representative embodiment of the invention, anaccess device may be registered using over the air programming via thegateway 118. A user of an access device may send access deviceinformation to the gateway 118 using, for example, a default interfacethat may be presented to and displayed on a screen of the access devicewhen the access device first enters the service area of the wirelessinterface 120. During registration, the capabilities of an access devicemay be sent to the gateway 118 and may be shared with devices that maybe coupled to the gateway 118.

Since the gateway acts as a registrar of information for all the accessdevices that may be wired or wirelessly coupled to it, the gateway mayfunction as a personal digital assistant for any of these accessdevices. In an illustrative example, a first device, a first PC and asecond PC are being serviced by the gateway 118. The first access devicereceives a call and the caller ID information shows the caller's name,home directory number and home address. However, the first PC containsthe business address for the caller and the second PC contains themonthly calendar information for the caller. Assume that the caller hada desire to set up a business meeting. In accordance with an aspect ofthe invention, the gateway 118 may be adapted to provide the businessaddress of the caller to the first access device and also provide thecaller's calendar to the first access device. In this manner, thenetwork centrally provides all the information necessary for schedulingthe meeting. In this example, the first PC may belong to the user of thefirst access device and the second PC may belong to the caller.

This concept may be extended to a look-up or 411 directory assistance onthe Internet. The lookup may also be location dependent. In this regard,if a user is located in Hollywood and requests a hotel location, thegateway 118 may only cause the hotels that are located in Hollywood tobe displayed to the user.

The gateway 118 may also be adapted to create profile information basedon data usage. These created profiles may be utilized to create socialnetworks for people having common interests. Accordingly, users may bepermitted to post their interests and also select those people havingsimilar interests based on the created profile. Based on the createdprofile information and the posted user interests, the gateway 118 mayalso generate a list of those people who have similar interest and alsothose users that may potentially have similar interests.

Given the capability to seamlessly operate an access device as onemigrates from outside the home into the home, it is desirable to have asingle device that may be adapted to control at least some of thedevices that may be found within the home. In addition to its normalvoice or data communication operating mode, an access device may beconfigured to operate as a universal remote that may be utilized toremotely control a plurality or other devices such as a TV, DVD, CD,Stereo, display monitor, or a combination thereof. Most access devicescurrently have an IR transmitter, which may be adapted to communicatewith other IR receiver devices.

The access device may be used for wireless communication and forremotely controlling an electronic device with as a TV, CD/DVDrecorder/player, or other device. The access device may also include atleast one soft-button that may be enabled through the gateway 118 andmay be utilized to control any other device that may be coupled to thegateway 118.

The gateway 118 is adapted to virtually aggregate data that may bevisible from a plurality of access devices or other network devices.Although the gateway 118 may be adapted to store some service andcontent related information, the gateway 118 does not actually storecopies of data that resides the access devices and/or other networkdevices that may be wired or wirelessly coupled to it. However, thegateway 118 may store, for example, metadata information that may beutilized to locate and access the information stored on the accessdevices and/or other network devices. The gateway is therefore adaptedto function as a registrar of both service and content relatedinformation.

Whenever an access device registers with and/or is authenticated by thegateway 118, information may be collected from the access device andrelated metadata information may be updated and/or synchronized withinformation that may be currently stored on the gateway 118.Additionally, when a device is no longer being serviced by the gateway118, associated information may be released from the gateway 118. Inthis regard, the virtual aggregations function performed by the gateway118 guarantees that the most current information is accessible from theaccess devices.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communicationsystem 100, in accordance with a representative embodiment of thepresent invention. The communication system 100 shown in FIG. 2comprises a wireless interface 120, a gateway (GW) 118 with a modem 116,and an array of access devices such as, for example, a printer 103, astereo receiver 105, a laptop 117, a wireless personal digital assistant(PDA) 119, and a digital video camera 121, at location 102. Thecommunication system 100 of FIG. 2 also comprises an access device 124that may correspond, for example, to the access devices 122, 124, 126 ofFIG. 1. A second location 104 within communication system 100 comprisesa router 130 with a modem 132, and a plurality of wireless accessdevices. The plurality of access devices at the second location 104 may,for example, comprise a personal computer (PC) 138, a laptop 136, and awireless personal digital assistant (PDA) 134. A peripheral such as, forexample, a digital camera 142 may be coupled to the personal computer138. Other peripherals such as, for example, printers, digital scanners,speakers, and the like, that are not shown in FIG. 2, may also becoupled to the personal computer 138 and/or laptop 136. The wirelessinterface 120 may comprise a plurality of interfaces such as, forexample, a Bluetooth interface, a cellular interface, and anycombination of an IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, and/or n interface, and/or anIEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface. Although the followingdiscussion refers frequently to the capabilities and actions of thegateway 118 and wireless interface 120, the same may be said of therouter 130 with the modem 132 of FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In accordance with a representative embodiment of the present invention,a wireless access device such as access device 124 may be mobile, andmay move between the personal area network/wireless local area networkcoverage provided by wireless interface 120 at location 102, the widearea network coverage provided by, for example, GSM network 114, and thecoverage provided by the router 130 and modem 132 at location 104. Thelocation 102 may, for example, be the home of the user of the accessdevice 124, the home of a friend or relative of the user of accessdevice 124, or an office, business, etc., where the user of accessdevice 124 may travel. The location 104 may, for example, be a secondhome of the user of access device 124, the home of a friend or relative,an office, or may have no personal or business relationship with theuser of access device 124. In a representative embodiment of the presentinvention, the gateway 118 may comprise, for example, a set top box thatmay be coupled in a wireless or wired fashion to access devices such as,for example, a laptop computer or television, such as the laptop 117 andthe television 115 of FIG. 2. Access to the communication bandwidth of abroadband network as previously described may be provided by the gateway118 and the modem 116 to wired or wireless access devices in thevicinity of location 102, and via router 130 and modem 132 to wired orwireless access devices in the vicinity of location 104, as shown inFIG. 2. This architecture may provide extended access to wirelessnetworks such as, for example, the GSM network 114, CDMA network 112,other cellular/PCS service provider 146, Internet 140 and publicswitched telephone network 108, of FIG. 1. The modem 116 is shownconnected to a broadband access provider (BAP) 106 via a broadbandconnection 107. The broadband connection 107 may comprise, for example,a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a cable network connection,a satellite connection, a T1 or T3 network connection, or similarbroadband communication link. The modem 116 is compatible with thebroadband connection 107, and may be, for example, a DSL modem, aDOCSIS-compliant cable modem, a satellite service modem, or T1 or T3compatible modem-type device. The broadband connection may provideaccess through BAP 106 to location 104, and via transport network 110to, for example, GSM network 114.

In the example illustration of FIG. 2, a user of the access device 124may or may not be engaged in communication with another system orsubscriber accessible via the GSM network 114, or other wide areanetwork of FIG. 1. Although the present example of FIG. 2 shows a GSMnetwork 114, a representative embodiment of the present invention may beemployed with respect to other wide area networks such as, for example,the CDMA network 112 and other cellular/PCS service provider 146, shownin FIG. 1.

When an access device such as, for example, the access device 124 ofFIG. 2 moves into the coverage area of a personal area network/wirelesslocal area network of, for example, the wireless interface 120 andgateway 118, or the router 130, the access device 124 may beauthenticated by the gateway 118 or router 130. The authentication mayinvolve the sharing or exchange of identification and/or authenticationinformation by the access device 124 with the gateway 118 or router 130.Details of an example of such an interaction are provided in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/021,294, entitled “Method And System ForProviding Registration, Authentication, And Access Via A BroadbandAccess Gateway,” filed Dec. 23, 2004, the complete subject matter ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. Oncethe access device 124 has been authenticated to the gateway 118, theaccess device 124 may be permitted to exchange multimedia informationand services available via the access devices in communication with thegateway 118, or via networks connected to the gateway 118. Informationabout the available multimedia information and services may be shared byand/or with the access device 124 via information exchanged by theaccess device 124 and the gateway 118 or router 130. Additionalinformation about the advertising of such information may be found inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/039,020, entitled “Method And SystemFor Extended Network Access Services Advertising Via A Broadband AccessGateway,” filed Jan. 18, 2005, the complete subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, a broadband accessgateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 or the router 130 of FIG.2 may maintain a database of the information about the availablemultimedia information and services, described above. Details of anexample of such a database of information about access device data maybe found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/095,842 entitled“Registering Access Device Multimedia Content Via A Broadband AccessGateway,” filed Mar. 30, 2005, the complete subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, an accessdevice such as, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 2 may beprovisioned with parameters and other data enabling operation within awide area network such as, for example, the GSM network 114, using anover-the-air (OTA) communication link via a broadband access gatewaysuch as, for example, the gateway 118 or the router 130 of FIG. 2. Anaccess device such as, for example, a mobile multimedia handset, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), and a pager, may receive OTAprovisioning information/parameters via a personal area network orwireless local area network supported by the gateway 118 and thewireless interface 120, in place of the OTA provisioning normallyprovided via a wide area network such as, for example, the GSM network114. Parameters that may be assigned by the operator of a wide areanetwork and provisioned into an access device such as those accessdevices described above may include, for example, an access deviceaddress such as, for example, an international mobile station identifier(IMSI), a mobile identification number (MIN); a system identifier (SID).The parameters may also include one or more security keys; radiofrequency operating parameters; access channel, control channel, pagingchannel, and/or neighbor lists; and access overload class information,to name only a few items. A representative embodiment of the presentinvention may enable the provisioning of large numbers of accessdevices, by distributing the provisioning communication load over alarge number of broadband access gateways located, for example, inresidences, businesses, offices, and the like.

In addition to the provisioning of parameters associated with what hastraditionally been referred to as the number assignment module (NAM) ofa cellular phone, a representative embodiment of the present inventionmay be employed for the transfer of other data as well. For example, arepresentative embodiment according to the present invention may be usedto download updated or enhanced operating code (e.g., software and/orfirmware) for an access device. The size of such updates andenhancements normally prohibits their download over the typicallylow-bit-rate connections provided by a wide area network such as, forexample, the GSM network 114. By employing the broadband connection andpersonal area and/or wireless local area network supported by, forexample, the wireless interface 120 and the gateway 118, arepresentative embodiment of the present invention permits the transferof large amounts of data to an access device, without impacting theperformance of the wide area network. Other forms of data may also betransferred to an access device using a representative embodiment inaccordance with the present invention including, for example, games anddownloadable ring tones.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram illustrating a communication system 100supporting over-the-air (OTA) programming of parameter information thatmay correspond to a portion of the communication system 100 of FIG. 2,for example, in accordance with a representative embodiment of thepresent invention. The communication system 100 shown in FIG. 3Acomprises a wireless interface 120, a gateway (GW) 118, a modem 116, andan array of access devices such as, for example, a laptop 117, awireless personal digital assistant (PDA) 119, and an access device 124that may correspond, for example, to the access devices 122, 124, 126 ofFIG. 1. The wireless interface 120 may comprise a plurality ofinterfaces such as, for example, a Bluetooth interface, a cellularinterface, and any combination of IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, and/or ninterface, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-wideband interface. Althoughthe following discussion refers frequently to the capabilities andactions of the gateway 118 and wireless interface 120, the same may besaid of the router 130 of FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The communication system 100 of FIG. 3A also comprises a central controland management function 148 that may be communicatively coupled to thegateway 118, an Internet service provider 140, a transport network 110,and a GSM network 114. The Internet service provider 140, the transportnetwork 110, and the GSM network 114 may correspond, for example, to theInternet service provider 140, the transport network 110, and the GSMnetwork 114 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Access to the communication bandwidth of abroadband network, as described above, may be provided by the gateway118 and the modem 116 for the access devices at location 1 102, as shownin FIG. 3A. The modem 116 is shown connected to a broadband accessprovider (BAP) 106 via a broadband connection 107. The broadbandconnection 107 may comprise, for example, a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection, a cable network connection, a satellite connection, aT1 or T3 network connection, or similar broadband communication link.The modem 116 is compatible with the broadband connection 107, and maybe, for example, a DSL modem, a DOCSIS-compliant cable modem, asatellite service modem, or T1 or T3 compatible modem-type device. Thebroadband connection may provide access through BAP 106, to the Internet140, and to the transport network 110 connected to the content provider150, and to the GSM network 114.

In an embodiment of the present invention, an access device capable ofoperating in a wide area network such as, for example, the GSM network114 may comprise a number of parameters that configure or provision theaccess device for service with the GSM network 114. Such parameters areillustrated in FIG. 3A as the parameters 163 of the wireless PDA 119,and the parameters 164 of the access device 124. The parameters 163, 164may be transferred from the set of parameters 165 of the GSM network114, or the parameters 166 of the content provider 150, for example. Ina representative embodiment of the present invention, the parameters163, 164 may, for example, be transferred to the access device 124 andthe wireless PDA 119, respectively, from the GSM network 114 or from thecontent provider 150, via the transport network 110, the BAP 106, andthe gateway 118, rather than through the conventional path using thewireless wide area network supported by the GSM network 114.

In a representative embodiment in accordance with the present invention,an access device such as, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 3Amay be capable of receiving service via both a wide area network suchas, for example, the GSM network 114, and a personal areanetwork/wireless local area network such as, for example, that providedby the wireless interface 120 of the gateway 118, and may enter thecoverage area of the wireless interface 120 and the gateway 118. Theaccess device 124 may be unknown to the gateway 118, and may have beenrecently acquired from a vendor (e.g., a retail location of the serviceprovider, a mass marketer, or via mail order) where no customization orprovisioning is supported. The parameters 164 of the access device 124will, therefore, have the values assigned to them during manufacture,and may not reflect or be related to the user/subscriber of the accessdevice 124. Upon entering into communication with the gateway 118, theaccess device 124 may provide identification information to the gateway118. Details of an example of such an interaction are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/039,020, entitled “Method And System ForProviding Registration, Authentication, And Access Via A BroadbandAccess Gateway,” filed Jan. 18, 2005, the complete subject matter ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. Thisidentification information may comprise, for example, an electronicserial number, an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI), aninternational mobile station identifier (IMSI), a mobile identificationnumber (MIN), a media access control (MAC) address, an Internet protocol(IP) address, a digital certificate, a manufacturer identifier, a modelidentifier, a type identifier, and a service provider identifier, toname just a few such information items. Some of the identifyinginformation may reside as parameters stored in the access device suchas, for example, the parameters 164 of the access device 124 shown inFIG. 3A. In a representative embodiment of the present invention, suchidentifying information may be used to facilitate the provisioning ofadditional or updated service parameters, or the updating of code suchas, for example, firmware and/or software in the access device 124 via abroadband access gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 of FIG.3A.

In one representative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway118 may send a notification of the appearance of the access device 124within the coverage area of the wireless interface 120, and some or allof the identification information, to a communication system managemententity such as, for example, the central control and management function148 shown in FIG. 3A. The central control and management function 148may review the identification information from the access device 124,and may determine that the access device 124 is capable of, but notprovisioned for, service via a wide area networks such as, for example,the GSM network 114. The central control and management function 148 mayinform the gateway 118 of that fact. In a representative embodiment ofthe present invention, the gateway 118 may then prompt the user, todetermine whether the user wishes to register for service with, forexample, the GSM network 114. In another representative embodiment, thegateway 118 may inform the access device 124 of the option to registerfor service. The access device 124 may then prompt the user, todetermine whether the user wishes to register for service with the GSMnetwork 114.

In a representative embodiment according to the present invention, aportion of the identification information received by the gateway 118may identify the service provider and the wide area network with whichservice may be established. Such information identifying a serviceprovider may have been placed in the parameters 164 of the access device124 at the time of manufacture, or by the vendor of the access device124, prior to sale.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the accessdevice 124 may be capable of operating on multiple service providernetworks such as, for example, the GSM network 114, the CDMA network112, and the other cellular/PCS service provider 146 shown in FIG. 1. Ina representative embodiment according to the present invention, the userof an access device that is capable of multi-network operation may beprompted to indicate for which of the wide area networks the accessdevice is to be provisioned.

In another representative embodiment of the present invention, thegateway 118 may itself review the identification information provided bythe access device 124, and may recognize that the access device 124 iscapable of operating within a wide area network such as, for example,the GSM network 114 shown in FIG. 3A. The gateway 118 may also recognizethat the access device 124 has not yet been provisioned for operationwithin the GSM network 114, and that provisioning is appropriate. Thegateway 118 may then communicate some or all of the identificationinformation described above to the GSM network 114, along withinformation identifying the gateway 118. The GSM network 114 may thenelect, for example, to engage in over-the-air (OTA) service provisioning(OTASP) of the access device 124, via the gateway 118 and theintermediate communication networks shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3B illustrates a display 300 showing an exemplary serviceregistration screen 320 that may be displayed by an access device suchas, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 3A, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The display 300 ofFIG. 3B comprises a network indicator 310, a network services indicatorarea 312, a battery life indicator, a time of day indicator, and a dayand date indicator. The network services indicator area 312 of FIG. 3Bcomprises an Internet protocol (IP) phone service icon 315, a printerservice icon 316, a stereo entertainment icon 317, a pay music serviceicon 318, and a video entertainment icon 319, showing those servicesthat may be advertised by a broadband access gateway such as, forexample, the gateway 118 of FIG. 3A, as being available to anappropriately identified or authorized user of the access device.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the serviceregistration screen 320 of FIG. 3B may be displayed, for example, uponentry into the coverage area of a broadband access gateway such as, forexample, the gateway 118 of FIG. 3A. As described above with respect toFIG. 3A, the user of an access device may be prompted to selectregistration with a wireless wide area network such as, for example, theGSM network 114 of FIG. 3A. An example of such prompting is shown asnotification text 330 and request text 331. The user of the accessdevice may select among the four network service providers 332, and mayelect to register with the selected network service provider 332 usingthe “REGISTER” button 340, or to postpone registration by using the“EXIT” button 341. If the user elects to register, the access device 124and elements of the communications network 100 of FIG. 3A may thenfollow the actions previously described above with respect to FIG. 3A inestablishing service.

FIG. 4A shows a block diagram illustrating a communication system 100supporting over-the-air (OTA) updating of code such as, for example,firmware and software, that may correspond to a portion of thecommunication system 100 of FIG. 2, for example, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The communicationsystem 100 shown in FIG. 4A comprises a wireless interface 120, agateway (GW) 118, a modem 116, and an array of access devices such as,for example, a laptop 117, a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA)119, and an access device 124 that may correspond, for example, to theaccess devices 122, 124, 126 of FIG. 1. The wireless interface 120 maycomprise a plurality of interfaces such as, for example, a Bluetoothinterface, a cellular interface, and any combination of IEEE 802.11 a,b, g, and/or n interfaces, and/or an IEEE 802.15.3a ultra-widebandinterface. Although the following discussion refers frequently to thecapabilities and actions of the gateway 118 and wireless interface 120,the same may be said of the router 130 of FIGS. 1 and 2, for example,without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The communication system 100 of FIG. 4A also comprises a central controland management function 148 that may be communicatively coupled to thegateway 118, an Internet service provider 140, a transport network 110,and a GSM network 114. The Internet service provider 140, the transportnetwork 110, and the GSM network 114 may correspond, for example, to theInternet service provider 140, the transport network 110, and the GSMnetwork 114 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Access to the communication bandwidth of abroadband network, as described above, may be provided by the gateway118 and the modem 116 for the access devices at location 1 102, as shownin FIG. 4A. The modem 116 is shown connected to a broadband accessprovider (BAP) 106 via a broadband connection 107. The broadbandconnection 107 may comprise, for example, a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection, a cable network connection, a satellite connection, aT1 or T3 network connection, or similar broadband communication link.The modem 116 is compatible with the broadband connection 107, and maybe, for example, a DSL modem, a DOCSIS-compliant cable modem, asatellite service modem, or T1 or T3 compatible modem-type device. Thebroadband connection may provide access through BAP 106, to the Internet140, and to the transport network 110 connected to the content provider150, and to the GSM network 114.

An access device in a representative embodiment of the present inventionsuch as, for example, the access device 124 and the wireless PDA 119 ofFIG. 4A may comprise updatable code (e.g., software and/or firmware)and/or data used in the operation of the access device 124 and thewireless PDA 119. Examples of such code and/or data include, forexample, user interface code, communication code, maintenance code,games, user application code, and similar executable program code. Suchcode and/or data may also comprise information such as, for example,phone books, address books, ring tones, and similar types of digitalinformation. As shown in FIG. 4A, updatable code and/or data may beaccessible to, for example, the wireless PDA 119 as code 173, and on theaccess device 124 as code 174 and ring tones 184. Items of code and/ordata may be generated by and/or stored for distribution at, for example,the GSM network 114 as code 175, at a manufacturer of the access device124 such as, for example, the content provider 150 as code 176 and ringtones 186, and perhaps from, for example, an independent informationprovider that may be located on the Internet 140 as code 177 and ringtones 187. Each of the repositories or sources of code and/or datalisted above may be transferred to the wireless PDA 119 and the accessdevice 124 via the elements of the communication network 100, and inparticular, via the gateway 118 and the wireless interface 120.

In a representative embodiment in accordance with the present invention,an access device such as, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 4Amay be capable of receiving updated code and/or data via a personal areanetwork/wireless local area network such as, for example, that providedby the wireless interface 120 of the gateway 118, and may enter thecoverage area of the wireless interface 120 and the gateway 118. Uponentering into communication with the gateway 118, the access device 124may provide identification information to the gateway 118. Details of anexample of such an interaction are provided in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/039,020, entitled “Method And System For ProvidingRegistration, Authentication, And Access Via A Broadband AccessGateway,” filed Jan. 18, 2005, the complete subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. Thisidentification information may comprise, for example, an electronicserial number, an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI), aninternational mobile station identifier (IMSI), a mobile identificationnumber (MIN), a media access control (MAC) address, an Internet protocol(IP) address, a digital certificate, a manufacturer identifier, a modelidentifier, a type identifier, and a service provider identifier, toname only a few such items. Some of the identifying information mayreside as parameters stored in the access device such as, for example,the parameters 164 of the access device 124. In a representativeembodiment of the present invention, such identifying information may beused to facilitate the updating of code and/or data such as, forexample, firmware or software in the access device 124 via a broadbandaccess gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 of FIG. 4A.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the accessdevice 124 may send identification information to the gateway 118 uponarrival within, or while within the coverage area of the gateway 118, asdescribed above. The gateway 118 may communicate such identificationinformation to, for example, the central control and management function148, or the GSM network 114. Based upon the received identificationinformation, the central control and management function 148 or the GSMnetwork 114 may determine that updated or replacement operating code(e.g., software and/or firmware) is available for the access device 124,and may inform the gateway 118 of that fact. The gateway 118 may thencoordinate the retrieval of the updated code from the central controland management function 148, a wide area network such as, for example,the GSM network 114, and/or a manufacturer of the access device 124. Ina representative embodiment of the present invention, a broadband accessgateway such as, for example, the gateway 118, may also coordinate theupdating of the access device 124.

In another representative embodiment of the present invention, thecontrol and management function 148 or the gateway 118, for example, mayforward the received identification information to a wide area networksuch as, for example, the GSM network 114. The GSM network 114 may thendetermine that updated code is available based upon the receivedidentification information, and may establish an over-the-air (OTA)communication session to update the code of the access device 124 viathe transport network 110, the BAP 106, and the broadband connection107.

FIG. 4B illustrates a display 400 showing an exemplary feature updatescreen 420 that may be displayed by an access device such as, forexample, the access device 124 of FIG. 4A, in accordance with arepresentative embodiment of the present invention. The display 400 ofFIG. 4B comprises a network indicator 410, a network services indicatorarea 412, a battery life indicator, a time of day indicator, and a dayand date indicator. The network services indicator area 412 of FIG. 4Bcomprises an Internet protocol (IP) phone service icon 415, a printerservice icon 416, a stereo entertainment icon 417, a pay music serviceicon 418, and a video entertainment icon 419, showing those servicesthat may be advertised by a broadband access gateway such as, forexample, the gateway 118 of FIG. 4A, as being available to anappropriately identified or authorized user of the access device.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the featureupdate screen 420 of FIG. 4B may be displayed, for example, upon entryinto or while within the coverage area of a broadband access gatewaysuch as, for example, the gateway 118 of FIG. 4A. As described abovewith respect to FIG. 4A, the user of an access device may be notified ofthe availability of updated code and/or data for an access device suchas, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 4A by a broadband accessgateway such as, for example, the gateway 118, the central control andmanagement function 148, or a wide area network such as, for example,the GSM network 114, of FIG. 4A. Although the notification of the usershown in FIG. 4B is of a textual nature, a representative embodiment ofthe present invention may be in the form of, for example, a graphicalrepresentation of the application or service being updated. The user maythen be prompted to select whether or not to accept the updated codeand/or data. Examples of a notification and prompt are shown asnotification text 430 and prompt text 431 in FIG. 4B. The user of theaccess device may elect to proceed with the update using “OK” button440, or to refuse the update by using “EXIT” button 441. Should the userelect to register, the access device 124 and elements of thecommunications network 100 of FIG. 4A may then follow the actionspreviously described above with respect to FIG. 4A for the update of anaccess device.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart 500 illustrating an exemplary method supportingover-the-air (OTA) programming of provisioning parameters using abroadband access gateway that may correspond, for example, to thegateway 118 of FIG. 3A, in accordance with a representative embodimentof the present invention. The method of FIG. 5 begins when a broadbandaccess gateway such as, for example, the gateway 118 of FIG. 3A ispowered up (block 510). As shown in the illustration of FIG. 5, at sometime after power-up, the gateway 118 may receive identificationinformation from an access device such as, for example, the accessdevice 124 of FIG. 3A via a personal area and/or wireless local areanetwork such as, for example, a Bluetooth network, or an IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n network (block 512). According to the exemplary method of FIG.5, a broadband access gateway may then use the received identificationinformation to determine whether the access device supports service viaa wide area network (block 514). The wide area network may comprise, forexample, the GSM network 114, the CDMA network 112, the othercellular/PCS service provider 146 shown in FIG. 1, or some similarnetwork. If the access device does not support service via a wide areanetwork, the method of FIG. 5 ends (block 530). If the access device iscapable of supporting service via a wide area network, a determinationmay be made whether the access device is registered for service via thewide area network (block 516). This may be accomplished by querying thewide area service provider that is supported by the access device, usinga broadband connection such as those described above with respect toFIG. 1, for example. If the access device is registered for service withthe wide area network, the method of FIG. 5 ends (block 530). If theaccess device is not registered for service via the wide area network, abroadband access gateway using the method of FIG. 5 may cause the userto be prompted to elect service registration with the supported widearea network (block 518). If the user does not elect to register withthe supported wide area network, the method of FIG. 5 ends (block 530).In one representative embodiment of the present invention, if the userdoes elect to register for service, the user may be prompted to enteruser-specific information required for registration (block 520). Theuser may then enter the requested parameters such as, for example,information items enabling the billing of service charges. The gateway118 may then receive and forward the registration information to thewide area network (block 524). The gateway 118 may then receiveprovisioning parameters via the broadband network, to enable the user ofthe access device to enjoy service from the wide area network (block526). Such provisioning parameters may include, for example, a directorynumber, an international mobile station identifier (IMSI), a mobileidentification number, roaming lists, neighbor lists, and otherparameters for operation in a wireless network. The gateway 118 may thentransfer the provisioning parameters to the access device via thepersonal area network (block 528), and the method of FIG. 5 ends (block530).

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart 600 illustrating an exemplary method supportingover-the-air (OTA) updating of code (e.g., software and/or firmware) inan access device such as, for example, the access device 124 or wirelessPDA 119 of FIG. 4A, using a broadband access gateway that maycorrespond, for example, to the gateway 118 of FIG. 4A, in accordancewith a representative embodiment of the present invention. As the methodof FIG. 6 shows the gateway 118 may, at some point after power-up,receive identification information, via a personal area network, from anaccess device such as, for example, the access device 124 of FIG. 4A(block 612). The personal area network may comprise, for example, aBluetooth network, an IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n network, or similar network.The gateway 118 may use the received identification information toidentify whether updates for the software and/or firmware of the accessdevice 124 are available (block 614). Updates may comprise, for example,code such as software, firmware, java applets and scripts, or otherinformation such as phone books, personal directories, and ring tones,for example. Such code and information may be developed by sources suchas, for example, the manufacturer of the access device 124, or by thirdparties such as, for example, the content provider 150 of FIG. 4A. Ifupdate(s) are not available for the access device (block 616), themethod of FIG. 6 ends (block 626). However, if updates(s) are availablefor the access device 124 (block 616), the gateway 118 may notify theuser of the availability of the updates (block 618). The notificationmay be in the form of, for example, a list of updates, or a graphicalrepresentation of the application(s) or service(s) being updated. If theuser of the access device does not elect to perform the update(s) (block620), the method of FIG. 6 ends (block 626). If, however, the userelects to perform the update (block 620), the gateway 118 may receivethe update(s) from the source(s) via the broadband network (block 622).The gateway 118 may transfer the received update to the access device124 via the personal area/wireless local area network (block 624). Themethod of FIG. 6 then ends (block 626).

Aspects of the present invention may be found in a system supportingover-the-air programming of a plurality of access devices via abroadband access gateway. In a representative embodiment of the presentinvention, the system may comprise a gateway communicatively coupled toa broadband network and at least one wireless interface. The gateway maybe capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the atleast one wireless interface and the broadband network, and ofcommunicating with the plurality of access devices via the at least onewireless interface. The gateway may also be capable of receiving from atleast one of the plurality of access devices, via the at least onewireless interface, at least one of information identifying an accessdevice and information identifying a user. In addition, the gateway maybe capable of determining whether updating of the at least one of theplurality of access devices is appropriate, and of receiving updatinginformation, via the broadband network, based upon the at least one ofinformation identifying an access device and information identifying auser. The gateway may also be capable of transferring the receivedupdating information to the at least one of the plurality of accessdevices via the at least one wireless interface.

Multimedia information in various representative embodiments of thepresent invention may comprise at least one of streaming video,broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitizedstill images, digitized video, and digitized music. The updatinginformation may comprise at least one of firmware and software, and mayalso comprise provisioning parameters assigned by an operator of awireless wide area network. The provisioning parameters may comprise atleast one of an international mobile station identifier (IMSI), a mobileidentification number (MIN), a system identifier (SID), a security key,a radio frequency operating parameter, an access channel, a controlchannel, a paging channel, a neighbor list, and access overload classinformation. In a representative embodiment of the present invention,the wireless wide area network may comprise a cellular network. The atleast one wireless interface may be compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 orcompatible personal area network (PAN) specification, may communicateusing an unlicensed frequency band, and may communicate at a frequencyof approximately 2.4 gigahertz. In addition, the at least one wirelessinterface may be compliant with at least one of the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11 b, 802.11 g,and 802.11 n standards. The broadband network may comprise at least oneof a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellitenetwork, a cellular network, and the Internet. In a representativeembodiment of the present invention, the cellular network may compriseat least one of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network,a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multipleaccess (CDMA) network, and a universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS) network. The information identifying a user may comprise at leastone of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier,and a credit card number. The information identifying an access devicemay comprise at least one of an electronic serial number, an Internetprotocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, informationidentifying a make of an access device, and information identifying amodel of an access device. The plurality of access devices may compriseat least one of a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, a digitalcamera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.

Other aspects of the present invention may be seen in a methodsupporting over-the-air programming of a plurality of access devices viaa broadband access gateway. Such a method may comprise receiving from atleast one of the plurality of access devices, via at least one wirelessinterface, at least one of information identifying an access device andinformation identifying a user. A representative embodiment of thepresent invention may comprise determining whether updating of the atleast one of the plurality of access devices is appropriate. The methodmay also comprise receiving updating information, via a broadbandnetwork, based upon the at least one of information identifying anaccess device and information identifying a user, and transferring thereceived updating information to the at least one of the plurality ofaccess devices via the at least one wireless interface. A representativeembodiment in accordance the present invention may further compriseexchanging multimedia information among the at least one wirelessinterface and the broadband network.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, multimediainformation may comprise at least one of streaming video, broadcastvideo, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized stillimages, digitized video, and digitized music. The updating informationmay comprise at least one of firmware and software, and may compriseprovisioning parameters assigned by an operator of a wireless wide areanetwork. The provisioning parameters may comprise at least one of aninternational mobile station identifier (IMSI), a mobile identificationnumber (MIN), a system identifier (SID), a security key, a radiofrequency operating parameter, an access channel, a control channel, apaging channel, a neighbor list, and access overload class information,and the wireless wide area network may comprise a cellular network. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the at least onewireless interface may be compliant with the Bluetooth V1.2 orcompatible personal area network (PAN) specification, may communicateusing an unlicensed frequency band, and may communicate at a frequencyof approximately 2.4 gigahertz. The at least one wireless interface maybe compliant with at least one of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11nstandards.

The broadband network in a representative embodiment according to thepresent invention may comprise at least one of a digital subscriber line(DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a cellular network,and the Internet. The cellular network may comprise at least one of aglobal system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time divisionmultiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA)network, and a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS)network. The information identifying a user may comprise at least one ofa member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, and acredit card number. In addition, the information identifying an accessdevice may comprise at least one of an electronic serial number, anInternet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address,information identifying a make of an access device, and informationidentifying a model of an access device. The plurality of access devicesmay comprise at least one of a mobile multimedia handset, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a digital scanner, adigital camera, a printer, headphones, and a pointing device.

Yet other aspects of the present invention may be observed in amachine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer programhaving a plurality of code sections executable by a machine, for causingthe machine to perform the operations of the method described above.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, the wirelesslocal area networks may include data networks such as, for example,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.11a/b/g/ncompliant wireless networks such as those located in homes, hot spots oran office. Such local area networks may operate in unlicensed radiofrequency spectrum such as in, for example, the 2.4 and 5 gigahertzregions. Examples of wide area networks may include cellular digitalpacket data (CDPD), voice and data networks such as public switchedtelephone networks (PSTN), Global System For Mobile Communication (GSM),GSM General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), GSM Short Message Service(SMS), GSM Enhanced Data Rates For Global Evolution (EDGE), NorthAmerican Time Division Multiplex Access (TDMA), iDEN, Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) and CDMA2000 1xRT, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) network, to name only a few.

A personal area network (PAN) may be formed by a plurality of wirelesscommunication access devices such as, for example, mobile multimediahandsets, PDAs, telephones, and computers. Other elements of such anetwork may, for example, include computer peripherals such as digitalscanners, digital cameras, printers, headphones, and pointing devices,that may be located within the immediate proximity of a person. A PANmay be an ad-hoc network of such communication devices. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, access deviceswithin the PAN may communicate with other access devices within the PANand also with other access devices that are located in other networksaccessible via the PAN. The personal area networks may include datanetworks such as, for example, a Bluetooth compliant network, andInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) 802.15.3acompliant wireless networks. Such personal area networks may operate inunlicensed radio frequency spectrum such as, for example, the 2.4 and 5gigahertz regions. Details of one example of a personal area network areprovided in the document “Bluetooth Core Specification V1.2”, Nov. 5,2003, from Bluetooth SIG, Inc., the complete subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. For example,in a Bluetooth® wireless PAN, a first Bluetooth®-enabled wireless accessdevice may communicate with a second Bluetooth®-enabled wireless accessdevice within the PAN. Additionally, either of the first and secondBluetooth®-enabled wireless access devices may communicate with theInternet or another LAN or WAN via the Bluetooth® wireless PAN.

In a representative embodiment of the present invention, a gateway maybe adapted to provide seamless and transparent communication between aplurality of access devices and a plurality of networks. Thefunctionality of the gateway may be divided, for example, intoapplication content functionality, and configuration and managementfunctionality. The application content functionality may, for example,deal with the types of applications that may be supported by the gatewayas well as the various types of data that may be received, processedand/or transmitted by the gateway. In this regard, application contentfunctionality may also include the manner in which other devices and/orsystems may utilize data from the gateway.

Content and application services are important because all theinformation coming into and leaving the home from either the WAN side(i.e., the broadband connection side), or from the PAN side (i.e., theaccess device side) converges at the gateway. The PAN side may compriseBluetooth, wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n), IEEE 802.15.3aultra-wideband, or cellular, for example. Notwithstanding, the gatewaymay be adapted to convert, for example, wirelessly receivedGSM-formatted information into, for example, Internet protocol(IP)-formatted information and in reverse, converts IP-formattedinformation into wireless GSM-formatted information suitable forover-the-air transmission. Support for other wireless communicationprotocols such as TDMA, CDMA, and UMTS may also be provided. In arepresentative embodiment of the present invention, the gateway maycomprise suitable circuitry, logic and/or code that may be adapted toreceive and process MPEG related data, which may be suitable for displayon a screen. The gateway in an embodiment of the present inventionfunctions as a focal point where data converges from a plurality ofwired and wireless services. Although, in a particular embodiment of thepresent invention the gateway may do very little in terms of actualcontent aggregation, there is virtual aggregation of data. The convergeddata may be integrated and or otherwise utilized to offer uniqueopportunities for launching various content and application servicesfrom a single strategic location. Since the gateway in an embodiment ofthe present invention is the focal point where data converges, one ormore protocol stacks may be employed for launching the various contentand application services.

The gateway in a representative embodiment of the present invention maybe adapted to route calls based on established rules that may beprogrammed into the gateway. For example, the gateway may be governed bya rule which states that local calls are to be routed to an incumbentlocal exchange carrier (iLEC), while long distance calls are to behandled by Long Distance Carrier Company. Accordingly, when a calloriginates at the gateway and it is determined that the call is a localcall, the gateway may be adapted to route the call to the iLEC. However,if the gateway determines that the call is a long distance call, thenthe gateway may be adapted to route the call to Long Distance CarrierCompany.

A representative embodiment of the present invention may leverageexisting broadband infrastructure that is commonly found in many homesand businesses today. Because a consumer is already paying for the useof the broadband infrastructure in their home or office, leveraging theuse of the existing broadband infrastructure for communication with widearea networks results in minimal or no communication costs. Thebroadband infrastructure may be, for example, a cable or DSLinfrastructure.

The wireless interface function provided by the gateway located within ahome, for example, may be utilized to route or communicate a great dealof traffic to a wired network such as a broadband network or a wirelessnetwork such as a GSM or CDMA network via a broadband connection. Inother words, the wireless gateway infrastructure provided by arepresentative embodiment of the present invention provides a scalablenetwork infrastructure that rides on an existing access infrastructurealready supplied by a broadband service provider to a home, office orbusiness. Additionally, the scalable infrastructure provided by thegateway also solves the problems associated with signal penetration andpropagation, thereby providing improved quality of service (QoS). From amarket perspective, a wireless service provider may now have access tothe necessary infrastructure to provide improved wireless services tousers within a home or office. Accordingly, in order to rapidly increasetheir growth, wireless service providers may now target that portion ofthe in-home landline or plain old telephone system (POTS) business,which have traditionally been handled by incumbent local exchangecarriers (ILECs) or other LECs.

The unlicensed mobile access gateway described above may possess asignificant amount of processing power. The gateways of existing systemsfall short of realizing the full potential of the merged wired andwireless communication network that is enabled by a representativeembodiment of the present invention. Numerous basic and enhancedcommunication services may be enabled or provided by the gateway.Support for access devices such as, for example, mobile multimediahandsets and PDAs may be involved in order to utilize these basic andenhanced communication services enabled by the new wave of digitaltechnologies. Current and/or proposed mobile access gateway systems,however, do not provide the range of support needed for their use by theeveryday consumer.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A system comprising: an electronic device; amanagement device configured to store an update of software or firmwarefor the electronic device; and an intermediary device communicablycoupled to the electronic device via a first network and communicablycoupled to the management device via a second network that differs fromthe first network, wherein the intermediary device is configured to:receive identification information from the electronic device when theelectronic device is in communication with the intermediary device viathe first network, the identification information identifying theelectronic device; and if the update of software or firmware for theelectronic device is available, receive over the second network from themanagement device, the update of software or firmware for the electronicdevice, and communicate the update of software or firmware to theelectronic device over the first network.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein the first network comprises at least one of a personal areanetwork or a local area network, and the second network comprises a widearea network.
 23. The system of claim 21, wherein the second networkcomprises a wireless network.
 24. The system of claim 21, wherein theintermediary device is further configured to: retrieve the update ofsoftware or firmware from the management device prior to receipt of theidentification information from the electronic device; store the updateof software or firmware in a local memory; and when the identificationinformation from the electronic device is received, communicate theupdate of software or firmware from the local memory to the electronicdevice over the second network.
 25. The system of claim 21, wherein theidentifying information comprises one or more of: a model identifier, anelectronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a mediaaccess control (MAC) address, information identifying a make of theelectronic device, or information identifying a model of the electronicdevice.
 26. The system of claim 21, wherein the intermediary devicefurther comprises a wireless interface that communicably couples theintermediary device to the electronic device via the first network. 27.The system of claim 26, wherein the wireless interface is compliant withat least one of: a Bluetooth or compatible personal area network (PAN)specification, or one or more of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11nstandards.
 28. The system of claim 26, wherein the wireless interface isconfigured to communicate at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz.29. The system of claim 21, wherein the intermediary device isconfigured to: communicate multimedia information over at least one ofthe first network or the second network.
 30. The system of claim 29,wherein the multimedia information comprises one or more of: streamingvideo, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio,digitized still images, digitized video, or digitized music.
 31. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein the management device is associated with amanufacturer of the electronic device.
 32. An electronic devicecomprising: at least one processor configured to: connect to a firstnetwork; communicate identifying information over the first network to acontroller device; and receive, from the controller device, an update ofa software or a firmware, the update of software or firmware having beenretrieved by the controller device over a second network that isseparate from the first network.
 33. The electronic device of claim 32,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: apply theupdate to the software or firmware.
 34. The electronic device of claim32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:provide, for display, a prompt for accepting the update of software orfirmware; receive, responsive to providing the prompt for display, anacceptance of the update of software or firmware; and apply the updateto the software or firmware responsive to receiving the acceptance ofthe update of software or firmware.
 35. The electronic device of claim32, wherein the electronic device is not configured to connect to thesecond network.
 36. The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the firstnetwork comprises at least one of a local area network or a personalarea network, and the second network comprises a wide area network. 37.The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the update of software orfirmware was retrieved by the controller device over the second networkfrom a management device.
 38. A method comprising: receiving, by acommunication device over a first network, identification informationfrom an electronic device, the identification information identifyingthe electronic device; using the received identification information,determining whether an update of software or firmware for the electronicdevice was previously retrieved over a second network that is separatefrom the first network; and if the update of software or firmware forthe electronic device was previously retrieved over the second network,communicating the update of software or firmware to the electronicdevice over the first network.
 39. The method of claim 38, furthercomprising: if the update of software or firmware for the electronicdevice was not previously retrieved over the second network: retrievingthe update of software or firmware over the second network; andcommunicating the update of software or firmware to the electronicdevice over the first network.
 40. The method of claim 38, wherein thefirst network comprises at least one of a local area network or apersonal area network, and the second network comprises a wide areanetwork.